Elizabeth Myers (1912–1947) was a British novelist and short story writer. She is remembered in particular for her novel ''A Well Full of Leaves''.

Life and work

Elizabeth Myers was born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

on 23 December 1912. Both her parents were of Irish descent. Thanks to a scholarship, she attended Notre Dame High School in Manchester where she received encouragement to write. She left school at age 14. In 1931, she and her mother and sister moved to London where she worked as a secretary in

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a street in Central London, England. It runs west to east from Temple Bar, London, Temple Bar at the boundary of the City of London, Cities of London and City of Westminster, Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the Lo ...

. In 1938, she was diagnosed with

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

and spent time in a TB sanatorium. She was already writing novels and publishing short stories in newspapers and magazines when she became friends with the author and poet

Eleanor Farjeon Eleanor Farjeon (13 February 1881 – 5 June 1965) was an English author of children's literature, children's stories and plays, poetry, biography, history and satire. Several of her works had illustrations by Edward Ardizzone. Some of her cor ...

, (who in 1957 edited a commemorative text dedicated to Myers), and with

Arthur Waugh Arthur Waugh (27 August 1866 – 26 June 1943) was an English author, literary critic and publisher. He was the father of the authors Alec Waugh and Evelyn Waugh. Early life Waugh was born in Midsomer Norton, Somerset, in 1866, elder son of ...

, father of the writer

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...

. In 1943, she married Littleton Charles Powys, a former head of

Sherborne Preparatory School Sherborne Prep School is a non-selective co-educational preparatory school in the town of Sherborne, Dorset in southern England. In July 2024, the two charitable trusts that own Sherborne Prep, Sherborne Boys, Sherborne Girls and Hanf ...

and went to live in

Sherborne Sherborne is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in north west Dorset, in South West England. It is sited on the River Yeo (South Somerset), River Yeo, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, east of Yeovil. The parish include ...

, Dorset. The same year, her novel ''A Well Full of Leaves'', a story of the effect of an abusive mother on her children, was published. It sold well despite critical contention, was reprinted several times and has been republished by

Persephone Books ''Persephone Books'' is an independent publisher based in Bath, England. Founded in 1999 by Nicola Beauman, Persephone Books reprints works largely by women writers of the late 19th and 20th century, though a few books by men are included. Th ...

. Myers died of tuberculosis at her home in

, Dorset, when she was only 34. In her short life, despite her illness, she published three very different novels: ''A Well Full of Leaves'', ''The Basilisk of St. James's'', and ''Mrs. Christopher''. She also published short story collections including: ''Lost in London and other short stories'', ''The Donkey and the Stars and other short stories'', ''The Public Entertainer and other stories'', ''Good Beds -- men only'' and ''Thirty Stories''. A prolific author she published many individual short stories in newspapers and magazines and some were aired on the radio. Myers travelled to the United States with her husband and spent six months in Arizona towards the end of her life. She worked on what would have been her fourth novel there, titled ''The Governor''. The novel unfinished, Myers died soon after her return to England. Myers died on 24 May 1947. Her literary archives are held at the

Harry Ransom Center The Harry Ransom Center, known as the Humanities Research Center until 1983, is an archive, library, and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe ...

. Because of her fondness for public libraries, her husband donated many of her books to the

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

County library.

Life and work

References

Further reading